This got me thinking about Childe Rowland as described in Robert Browning’s poem and “2001: A Space Odyssey”. I started making strange connections between these three pieces of art: Monoliths and Dark Towers, Elf Kings and alien intelligences, Knight’s or astronauts sent on quests that others have failed. I guess most of those comparisons have more to do with the poetry and prose than the painting, but the painting seems to fit in well to either narrative. There is something inhuman in the look of that tower, like the Elf King’s dark tower and Clarke’s monolith. And there is a feeling of bleak dark awe to the painting, the poem, and the science fiction.
I tried tapping into the platonic ideal of the foreboding dark tower that we see in so many of our narratives, so I’m glad my piece managed to send you down this path! Including 2001 of course (though not quite a tower), hence the name. I wasn’t familiar with Robert Browning’s poem, thanks for the link!
This got me thinking about Childe Rowland as described in Robert Browning’s poem and “2001: A Space Odyssey”. I started making strange connections between these three pieces of art: Monoliths and Dark Towers, Elf Kings and alien intelligences, Knight’s or astronauts sent on quests that others have failed. I guess most of those comparisons have more to do with the poetry and prose than the painting, but the painting seems to fit in well to either narrative. There is something inhuman in the look of that tower, like the Elf King’s dark tower and Clarke’s monolith. And there is a feeling of bleak dark awe to the painting, the poem, and the science fiction.
I tried tapping into the platonic ideal of the foreboding dark tower that we see in so many of our narratives, so I’m glad my piece managed to send you down this path! Including 2001 of course (though not quite a tower), hence the name. I wasn’t familiar with Robert Browning’s poem, thanks for the link!